Heat & wildfire safety

If a wildfire comes close

Fires in summer 2025 forced evacuations around Delvinë and Himarë, including tourists. If police, firefighters or your host tell you to leave, leave.

1. Leave straight away in the direction you're told. Don't stop to pack or take photos.
2. Never drive into smoke or towards the fire. On narrow coastal roads, turn back early.
3. If you're trapped: go to an open area with little vegetation (a beach, a car park), cover your nose and mouth with a wet cloth, and call 112.
4. In a building: close windows and doors, turn off the air conditioning and gas, fill sinks and baths with water.
5. Tell your family and your host where you are, and keep your phone charged.

In a heatwave

• Climb castles (Berat, Gjirokastër, Rozafa) and hike early in the morning, and pick beaches with shade.
• Drink water often, even if you're not thirsty. Buses and furgons often have no air conditioning: carry water.
• Avoid hiking and long walks between 11:00 and 18:00.
• Watch for heat exhaustion: headache, dizziness, nausea, heavy sweating. Get to shade, drink, cool down. Confusion or no sweating is an emergency: call 112 (ambulance 127).
• Never leave children or pets in a parked car.

Help prevent fires

• No barbecues, campfires or burning anything outdoors in summer, including on beaches and in parks.
• Don't throw cigarettes on the ground or out of the car window.
• Don't park on dry grass: a hot exhaust can start a fire.
• See smoke or flames? Call 112 or the fire service on 128 straight away.